The suspect, identified by officials only as ‘Adilet’, is accused by Kazakhstani authorities of defrauding a victim, named only as ‘Elitzirova’, of a large sum of money, Phuket Immigration explained in a statement.
Adilet allegedly deceived the victim by claiming he could help secure government land for the construction of a shop building, before embezzling the funds and fleeing the country. An international notice was later issued for his arrest.
Phuket Immigration confirmed that the suspect had been hiding in Phuket after evading authorities overseas.
According to Immigration officials, the Foreign Affairs Division coordinated with Phuket Immigration Police to investigate the case and locate the suspect in Thailand. Following intelligence gathering, officers learned that Adilet was residing in Mueang Phuket district.
On Nov 15, at about 5:30pm, officers from the Phuket Immigration Investigation Unit moved to detain the suspect, Phuket Immigration reported late last night (Dec 16).
Rather than making an immediate arrest at his residence, officers arranged for the suspect to come in for questioning. Upon meeting him, officials informed Adilet that his permission to stay in the Kingdom had been revoked. He was then taken into custody without incident.
Now a month after Adilet’s arrest, Phuket Immigration Police have confirmed they have coordinated with the Kazakhstan Embassy to “begin deportation proceedings”.
The suspect will be returned to Kazakhstan to face further legal action in connection with the fraud case, Phuket Immigration said.
According to the Phuket Immigration report, the arrest was carried out in line with Royal Thai Police policy targeting transnational crime and foreign nationals who pose a risk to public safety.
The statement also said that the Immigration Bureau remains committed to tackling illegal activities involving foreign nationals in Thailand, including illegal work, illegal business operations and cross-border crime. The bureau added that such activities cause public nuisance and threaten citizens and visitors alike.
Of note, Phuket Immigration has a new chief, Pol Col Khemchart Wattanapakasem, who took up the post on Nov 29. Pol Col Khemchart was previously the Immigration Chief of Chanthaburi Province.
Col Kriangkrai Ariyaying has been transferred to be Chief of Nakhon Ratchasima Immigration, a landlocked province in Northeastern Thailand without an international airport.
Phuket Immigration late last night also finally announced the arrests of brothers Saurabh and Gaurav Luthra, both wanted in India for the deaths of 25 people in a fire at their ‘Birch by Romeo Lane’ nightclub in Goa.
As already widely reported in international media, the pair were arrested at a hotel in Patong on Dec 11.
Not marked in the Phuket Immigration report, but again already long reported elsewhere, is that the Luthra brothers are in Bangkok undergoing deportation procedures.
The announcement of the Luthra brothers’ arrests follows Phuket Immigration previously plainly refusing to acknowledge any involvement in their arrests.